The Jewish Conundrum in World History

"This remarkable and thought-provoking work, by one of the leading figures in the scholarly revival of Jewish studies in the former Soviet Union is a sustained reflection on the course of Jewish history and of the impact of the Jews over the past millennia on wider developments. It is one of the most fascinating reflections on this vital topic to appear in recent times." ~Antony Polonsky, Albert Abramson Professor of Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Brandeis University

"A Russian-educated linguist and cultural anthropologist, Alexander Militarev offers in this elegantly written study a novel approach to address the “conundrum” posed by the prominence of the Jews in the unfolding of humanistic cosmopolitan culture. With prodigious erudition, yet with manifest humanity and no small measure of humor, he probes the deep structures of what he calls the “Adamic universalism” inscribed in the biblical lexicon and worldview and which, he argues, continue to inform the cognitive reflexes and ethical sensibilities of Jewish intellectuals." ~Paul Mendes-Flohr, Professor of Modern Jewish Thought, Divinity School, The University of Chicago; Professor Emeritus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"In this collection of essays, Militarev (history and philology of the ancient East, Russian State U.), self-identified as a Jewish member of the Russian intelligentsia, presents a comparative linguistic approach to issues relating to Jews' roots and unique historical role and contributions to Russian and world civilization. He includes an etymology of Semitic and Afrasian terms of an intellectual/spiritual nature, notes on the importance of this etymology for interpreting the Bible, and genealogical trees of world and Afrasian languages. This is an updated version of his book published in 2003 by Natalis Press, Moscow, whose English title is A Myth Come True: 'The Jewish Idea' in Civilization." ~Annotation ©2010 Book News Inc. Portland, OR